Up to now, an image forming apparatus including a scanner and a printer is generally provided with an operation panel integrated to a main body of the image forming apparatus. On the other hand, an image forming apparatus provided with an operation unit that is detachably attachable to the main body is also conceivable (for example, see PTL 1). In the above-described image forming apparatus, in a case where the main body is provided with a scanner unit and a printer unit, the operation panel can be detached from the operation panel, and it is also possible to conduct an operation instruction in front of the scanner unit and the printer unit.
Also, in recent years, in a computer device provided with a touch panel and various sensors, various gesture inputs can be conducted by using the touch panel, and it is possible to detect a position, an inclination, a direction, and the like of the device by using the various sensors.
In the above-described image forming apparatus to which the operation panel can be detachably attached, an operator can detach the operation panel from the main body and conduct various settings while taking along the operation panel. However, this structure only enables the detachment of the operation panel from the main body for the operation, and a problem exists that an operability is to be further improved by making use of a characteristic corresponding to a portability of the operation panel.
In addition, in the computer device provided with the touch panel and the various sensors, irrespective of the provision of the touch panel and the various sensors, a manner for a print instruction to a printer is not different from a print instruction method employed in a computer device that is not provided with the touch panel and the various sensors.